CoHF Alternate chapter 19 start
by claceandnatch1
Summary: I kinda imagined this happening at the start of chapter 19 in City of Heavenly Fire. This is my first published thing so please tell me what you think. Positive or negative.


Clary tried to ignore the cold blowing through her shadowhunter gear. She shivered, wishing someone were out here with her, but everyone was keeping an eye on Isabelle. She had offered to keep a look out, and both Jace and Simon _had_ offered to keep her company, but she had told them to rest.

She wondered what time it was in the demon realm. Did the time run the same in Alicante? She thought about that until a glimpse of movement caught the corner of her eye.

She pulled Heosphoros from its scabbard at her side and went to investigate. She stumbled down the rocky hill to the place where she had taken the heavenly fire from Jace's body, and looked around for the flash again.

She saw it, just behind a group of rocks, and hid behind her own rock. It appeared to be a lone ravener demon, wondering aimlessly around. It looked gross-the poison dripping from its scorpion barb, splashing onto the dusky plain surrounding them. She gulped and threw up a little into her mouth. Once a Mundie-Always a Mundie.

Suddenly, she felt a pain at her throat and hot liquid pouring from the pain. The blood spilled onto the front of her gear and she whirled around. She stood face to face with one of Sebastian's endarkened. He had sandy blonde hair that hung in dreadlocks around his face, with was covered with pimples. He had the black eyes of the endarkened and a lanky frame. He was probably about Clary's age or younger. His name lingered on the tip of her tongue.

"Riley? Riley Firemaze?"

She remembered that his mother was a single parent that ran the Oklahoma institute.

Riley grinned, a horrible grin that reminded her of her brother. "Sebastian is rooting for your company. Come by choice or I'll have to intervene."

"There's no way my brother would allow you to kill me."

"True, but he said nothing about harming you. Loss of fingers won't kill you."

Clary gulped and turned to look over her shoulder at the cave exit. She nodded innocently and lifted Heosphoros into the air to show it was her only weapon.

"Drop your sword," he ordered, indicating with his own sword at the ground.

Clary lifted her own sword and slashed at Riley's shoulders. He collapsed on the ground without another word.

Clary dropped her sword. Suddenly, a heavy load fell on her back. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ravener she'd seen earlier. It's barb suddenly sunk into her chest and she screamed out in pain, it was radiating through her body like nothing she had ever felt before.

Blood poured from the new wound and black tinged her vision, but it felt like fire. When book characters said being stabbed or shot felt like fire licking their bodies; inside and out, she'd always believed the authors were being melodramatic, but now she understood. This was torture. _This is it._ She thought. _I'm going to die._

Jace awoke from a fitful sleep to Clary's distant screaming.

He ran down the rocky hallway and shot out the other end. He could see a black lump, moving to hover over something red.

 _Clary!_ He thought and rushed down the crumbling hill. He dug the hilt of his sword into the ravener demon before kneeling down by Clary. She was whimpering 'Jace Jace Jace' over and over, her hands covering a scarlet patch on her gear that was spreading, her eyes closed.

"Clary? It's alright. I'm here." He gently lifted her into his lap.

He kissed her forehead when she whimpered in pain, and the kiss seemed to relax her slightly.

Jace pulled out his knife and stele, slashing away her gear and began to draw _Iratzi_ 's all over her stomach. The ravener barb appeared to have gone into her chest, frighteningly close to her heart and lungs. Clary put her hand over his stele. He looked down at her, surprised.

"Jace," she winced, then hissed at the pain it brought on. "Don't bother. It won't work."

"What? It worked before! It must work now."

"We were not in a demon realm before. Runes are weaker…" she trailed off.

He looked down at her in despair. He remembered the first time she was bitten by a ravener demon, the second time they had met, at her house in Brooklyn. He remembered feeling sickeningly terrified. How could this new girl cause so much trouble? She was a mundane, for crying out loud! He hadn't been sure if the rune would work or not, but he'd risked it, impulsively.

"No," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "It has to work. I'll _make it work._ "

She gave a puffed little laugh and winced again. "So stubborn. Jace, please listen," she coughed. "I-"

She doubled up, crying out. Jace felt hot tears burn his cheeks. _He cried all night, then never cried again._ Jace held her shoulders and cried out for Simon and Alec. He'd never seen Clary in so much pain.

They appeared at the top of the hill and threw themselves off of it to land at Jace's side.

"Ravener poison," he explained, ripping the leg off of his gear, scrunching it into a ball, and dabbing it into Clary's wound. She cried out and arched off the ground.

"Jace!" she cried, her voice breaking. "Please! Stop! It _hurts_!" tears streaked her face.

"I know, I know, just…please, please hold on. It'll stop soon." Jace felt his heart slam against his chest. He handed Alec the fabric, keeping his eyes on his girlfriend. "You do it. I can't do it to her."

Alec did as he was asked. Jace clutched Clary's hand and leaned his forehead on her own, kissing her temples.

"Jace, "she whispered. "It hurts. It's a billion times worse then The Mortal Sword. You _know_ it hurts. Please…make it stop."

He let out a ragged breath but said nothing when Alec eyed him questioningly. She had to know it was for her own good.

Alec inched the wad of gear closer to the wound and Clary screamed like shattering glass. Her heartbeat slowed to half the speed it should be.

"Jace," she breathed. "I…I love you. Always."

Jace leaned in to kiss her. "Me too. But stronger."

Clary tried for a smile that turned out as a grimace. "Impossible." She gasped. "Jace. Remember that."

Jace was startled. "What?"

But she didn't answer. She never did.

"Jace, the blood. It's stopped flowing."

"No," he whispered, then hardened his voice. "No! She can't be…it's not possible."

But he knew he was wrong. He knew, deep in his heart-of-hearts, that she was gone. Knew in his heart, that the love of his life was dead.


End file.
